Crash Landing
by x Varda x
Summary: Missing scenes/tag for 'Infection.' This story deals with the immediate aftermath of the crash and then the infirmary scenes. Needless to say, whump for all!
1. The Crash

"Stargate" and all related characters are the property of MGM Television Entertainment

Spoilers for 'Infection' and a tag for that episode as we got cheated out of all the whump and infirmary scenes!

A/N – I tried to write this in the manner of ER or just about any 'busy' medical TV series. One character is tracked for a while, they pause with another person and then we start tracking that other person and so on and so forth.

**Crash Landing - The Crash**

The front half of the Hive Ship ploughed across the water as it impacted, churning up a tsunami and a cloud of steam and smoke in its wake. The enormous wall of water generated by the splash down rippled out in all directions.

The occupants unfortunate to have still been onboard were not taken by surprise, but the loss of the inertial dampeners jolted them all more forcefully than they could have anticipated. Debris and bulkheads detached and fell.

The doomed Hive Ship eventually came to a juddering halt, but not before the sounds of its twisting and protesting hull rang out both inside and into the air of the planet around it.

Everyone was violently thrown upward and then fell back down to land on the deck as gravity reasserted itself. The power then cut out and plunged the whole scene into darkness.

For a moment there was complete stillness and silence, until it was broken by a wet coughing sound and a groan. There was a shuffle and a click, before the thin beam of a P90 light pierced the black.

Teyla called out into the room, "Is everyone alright?" She got up onto shaky legs and winced as she reached up to hold her head for a moment. Satisfied that she was not too seriously injured, she shone the light around looking for signs of life.

She found Todd first. He appeared to be uninjured and Teyla crouched down next to him as she shone her light into his face. He nodded at her so she moved on.

Teyla found Dr Keller next. She was lying sprawled out of the floor on her front. Teyla knelt down and felt for a pulse. It was strong and Jennifer blinked her eyes open at the touch on her neck. She mumbled, "I thought we were all a goner for sure after that. How come I'm still alive?"

Teyla pursed her lips and helped Keller as she rolled over and sat up, "Are you injured?"

Jennifer looked down at herself, "Well I'm pretty sure I've got a lot of bruises, but it doesn't feel like anything fatal."

"I am very glad to hear that, but I require help with the others."

There was loud grunt from the other side of the room and Ronon suddenly loomed at them out of the darkness, which made both women jump. His arm was across his chest and blood was dripping down from his elbow.

He blinked at them and then focused on Keller. "The marines are all alive, Lorne's helping them patch each other up. Have you seen Sheppard and McKay yet?"

Teyla shook her head and grimaced as her headache came back ferociously. Keller peered at her in concern for a moment, but she did not say anything as she allowed Ronon to help her up.

Teyla handed her a torch and they moved around the room. Teyla found Sheppard unconscious and called Keller over to check on him. Teyla then continued her search for Rodney.

Ronon called out to her from the corner, "Hey, over here."

Teyla rushed over as fast as her sore head would let her. Ronon had tied off a piece of cloth around his arm, but it was still bleeding. She looked at the floor where Ronon was indicating and opened her mouth in shock.

There was only a foot visible underneath a large amount of debris which had fallen from the ceiling. Ronon was working at shifting it off and with Teyla's help they soon uncovered McKay. They had had to shift a particularly heavy piece of rubble from his leg.

Rodney was curled up on his side facing the wall. Teyla reached down and touched his back with her hand. "Rodney? Can you hear me?"

There was no response. She shared a look with Ronon and then took her hand away. Her fingers felt sticky so she shone the light into her palm. She was startled to find bright red blood all over her hand. Ronon frowned, "It's not yours is it?"

"No it is not." Teyla put her hand against Rodney's chest and felt a steady rise and fall. "He is still alive, but we will need Dr Keller's assistance before we move him."

She shone the light at Rodney's back to try and find the source of the blood. She peeled back Rodney's jacket and shirt and found a large and leaking cut on his back. It looked like a particularly sharp piece of debris had gouged a deep and bloody gash across the scientist's back. She could also see darkening bruises mottled across the back of his ribcage and all around the cut. She pulled out a bandage and pressed it gently against the injury.

Ronon carefully checked the rest of the scientist for damage. A pained moan escaped Rodney's lips when Ronon touched his right leg. Ronon frowned and slowly pulled up the clothing covering McKay's lower leg. He narrowed his eyes at the purple skin and the slightly incorrect angle of Rodney's leg. He called out across the room, "Keller! We need you."

"Hold on a moment." She had just finished checking Sheppard, who was still unresponsive. He had groaned as she felt along his chest and found at least two broken ribs. She had then checked his eyes and finding them both reactive to the penlight she flashed into them, she was reassured that there was no head injury. His breathing was easy and pulse strong, so she moved over to Lorne and the marines.

Although shaken, cut and bruised, they were all conscious. She ran some checks and asked a few quick questions and then moved on.

Jennifer walked over to Ronon and Teyla and looked down at Rodney. She steeled her expression and engaged a professional detachment as she checked him. She spoke as she worked, "Deep bruising and a broken leg. This severe laceration on his back worries me. It may be deep enough to have damaged his lumbar spine. I can't find anything else without better equipment and conditions. Have you been able to contact Atlantis on the radio?"

Ronon shook his head, "No, they're dead."

Jennifer flinched at his poor choice of words as she took Rodney's pulse and Teyla kept the pressure up on the bandage.

Ronon looked down at them working for a moment and then his keen hearing picked up a slight sound of sloshing water. He frowned as he walked away and came across a large and rapidly growing pool of seawater leaking into the room. He quickly made his way over to Major Lorne and the marines.

"Hey, I think we need to get out of here."

Lorne was sitting on the floor helping another marine who appeared to have a broken arm. He blinked up at the tall Satedan and said, "How come?"

Ronon pointed to the lowest point of the room, "It's flooding."

The marine nodded at Lorne and he stood up next to Ronon. The Major swayed for a moment and held his side. He them coughed and winced.

Ronon frowned and held onto Lorne's shoulder to stop him from falling over. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I don't know. I thought it was just a bruise, but I think it may be more serious." He coughed again and put his hand up to his mouth. It came away covered in blood and he stared at it.

Ronon carefully helped him to sit down, "Don't move. I'll send Keller over to have a look. I expect the rescue teams are already on the way."

Lorne nodded up at him and his face paled as he continued to look at his blood stained fingers.

Keller was talking to Teyla as they both still crouched down next to Rodney. "He seems to be stable for now. Keep an eye on him and don't even move him in the slightest."

Teyla nodded and flinched before she reached up to hold her head as she released her hands from the bandage on Rodney's back. She let out a heavy sigh and returned her hands to the reddening material.

Keller looked at her in concern and went over. She flashed a light to check Teyla's eyes. "They're both reactive, but you're going to need some time in the infirmary when we get back to make sure there's no more damage."

Teyla pursed her lips and looked back down at Rodney. Keller also looked at the injured man on the ground and a shadow of deep sorrow passed across her face before she could prevent it, almost like she was only just realising the seriousness of his injuries. She closed her eyes and forced herself to look away. She said to Teyla, "I need to go and monitor Sheppard. Call me over if his condition deteriorates."

Teyla spoke instead of nodding, "I will and thank you."

Keller walked away to the other side of the room and left Teyla. Ronon came over from where he had been with the marines. "Hey, how is he?"

Teyla closed her eyes before she spoke, "He is still alive but he is very badly hurt. Dr Keller has gone to help John. I do not believe Rodney will give up very easily." She rested a hand on McKay's forehead as she spoke and his face twitched slightly in response which made her smile.

Ronon glanced over to the flooded section of the room and noticed the level of the water had risen and would soon start to be a problem if they did not get out of there soon. He gently put a hand on Teyla's shoulder and walked over to Keller.

"Uh… Dr Keller? We've got a problem."

Jennifer was checking Sheppard's pupils again and glanced up at Ronon, but waited for him to continue.

"Major Lorne's been hurt worse than he told you. We also need to move everyone out of here or we'll drown."

Jennifer checked Sheppard's pulse and then sighed, "I'm sorry Ronon. I'm a little busy. I don't think we can move Rodney at all. There's too much of a risk his spine has been damaged and we could paralyse or kill him if we're not careful."

"So you'd rather he drowned?"

Jennifer stood up quickly and glared at Ronon. "Of _course_ not! I just think we should give the rescue party a little more time before we resort to that."

Ronon nodded, "Okay. Well, I'm going to try and get that door open for when they get here."

He turned to walk away but Jennifer caught his shoulder, "Not so fast. Let me have a look at that arm you're trying to hide from me."

Ronon grunted and stopped trying to flee. He turned to face her and she gently checked his forearm. She raised an eyebrow at him incredulously, "You've got a serious compound fracture that's broken through the skin!"

Ronon frowned and said, "Oh, I thought it was just a cut."

Jennifer shook her head in exasperation. "I want you to sit down with the others and don't even think about trying to move that door. We can wait."

Ronon looked defeated as Keller continued to glare at him. He relented and walked back over to sit with Teyla and Rodney where he could also monitor the level of the water more closely.

Keller rolled her eyes at the retreating back of the Satedan. She crouched down next to Sheppard but there was still no response and his condition was the same. She looked up and shone her small flashlight in the direction of Todd. He was still sitting there with his eyes open and he blinked slowly as she watched.

Jennifer stood up and went over to Lorne who was lying on his side and had his arms hugged around his midsection. She crouched down next to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. "What happened?"

"I think I must have taken a larger whack than I thought. Feels like some of my ribs may be broken and I just coughed up some blood."

Jennifer carefully ran her hands over his ribcage and he winced, "Yes, there's definitely something not quite right in there."

Lorne frowned up at her incredulously and she quickly said, "I mean, yes you've got at least one broken rib and it may have punctured your lung."

A sudden reverberating bang echoed around the room and made them all jump. Keller frowned and stood up to try and localise the source of the noise. She tried not to think about the fact that they may already be deep underwater and the sound was the noise the hull made just before it was about to buckle under the pressure. She closed her eyes and breathed in through her nose and out of her mouth to try and calm her nerves.

The bang came again, much closer this time. It sounded like it came from the door, which Jennifer reasoned, may very well have been the weakest section of the room they were in.

The third time the bang came was when the door was suddenly blasted inwards and Jennifer closed her eyes again and waited for the crushing water to flood in and sweep her away to oblivion. When she heard loud voices and the walking of many feet she cracked open her eyelids. She smiled when she saw a whole team of marines and a large number of her own medical staff swarming in.

She went over to them, "I'm so glad to see you! Any longer and I'd have thought you'd forgotten about us."

The lead marine stepped forward, "I'm Major Kersey, what's the situation Doctor?"

Keller addressed the medical team more than the marines and was glad to see they had brought backboards as well as lots of other gear.

She reeled off the observations she had made on each person and listed them in order of severity. "Dr McKay, Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne are the most seriously injured. Neither John nor Rodney have been conscious since we crashed."

She let the medical staff get on with their work and perched on the edge of one of the ruined consoles as she put her face in her hands.

Major Kersey came over and crouched down in front of her. He looked up at her face and said, "The Hive is rapidly sinking. We need to move you all to the Jumpers. You've done an excellent job here and should be proud. I can't imagine it was very easy."

Jennifer looked up at him and smiled grimly, "Thanks, but we still need to keep everyone alive."

Kersey put his hand on her shoulder and surveyed the room. The medical staff were efficient and calm despite the rising water and they quickly had the most seriously injured immobilised on backboards and in neck collars, while the walking wounded were supported and moved out to the waiting Jumpers.

Todd was the last to go and pushed away any assistance the marines tried to offer him. He turned in the doorway and sighed sadly as he took his last look around the room of his once glorious Hive Ship. He then turned and disappeared from view.

Kersey took Jennifer's hand and helped her up. They were the last to leave the room. The water had now half flooded the whole compartment and was visibly rising very quickly.

Jennifer walked along the corridor in a daze as Kersey guided her. Her heart was still beating too quickly due to the adrenaline and stress of what she had just had to do. She drew in some more deep breaths and tried to steady herself.

Before she knew what had happened, she was sitting on a bench in the rear compartment of a Jumper and on the way back to Atlantis. Rodney was on the floor in front of her and several medical personnel were knelt down around him. She suddenly felt the deepest pang of worry she had ever felt in her entire life as she saw him laying there with the oxygen mask over his mouth and nose and IV lines in his arms, along with the cervical collar supporting his head. She bent over and reached across to grasp his hand tightly and blinked away the tears that had formed in her eyes.

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TBC


	2. Infirmary

Wow, thanks for the reviews! Here's the other missing scene.

**Crash Landing – Infirmary**

Sheppard walked slowly along the row of beds in the infirmary. The smell of antiseptic filled his nostrils and he could hear quiet beeps in the background.

He had been in some bad situations in the past, but he thought this was one of the worst ones he had seen since he had taken his post on Atlantis.

He felt terribly guilty at taking everyone onboard the doomed Hive Ship. The fact that they had all been injured and one marine had died weighed heavily on his conscience. He was the ranking officer and he thought what had happened was his fault.

He paused for a moment and winced as he breathed. He knew he had to do something to alleviate his guilt and that had meant not lying still in an infirmary bed, feeling completely useless, while his friends silently fought for their lives.

Dr Keller came rushing over and spoke quietly, "I hope you're not trying to sneak out Colonel?"

John smiled at her grimly and looked away at the bed on his left, where Rodney was lying unconscious. "No, I just wanted to make sure everyone's alright."

She continued to berate him, "Well I could've told you that without you having to get up at all."

"I feel fine," he lied, "And anyway I'd rather you concentrate your efforts on everyone else."

Jennifer frowned, "Two broken ribs is not '_fine_,' John. I want you to stay in here for at least a few more hours so that we can monitor you."

John straightened up a little and released a pained breath. He smiled reassuringly at Jennifer as she watched him incredulously. He said, "Okay, you win. How is everyone anyway? They all look quite banged up."

Jennifer set her lips in a thin line as she walked along the row of beds lining the wall. John followed her shakily and took shallow breaths to avoid jolting his damaged ribs.

They both went and stood next to Ronon first. John saw that he had his arm securely wrapped in a cast. Jennifer looked down at him and said, "It was a bad break. He had to have surgery to put it back in alignment. However, it was a complete success and his arm should heal correctly."

John smiled, "That's great. For my head's sake during our next sparring session, let's hope he doesn't recover too quickly."

He reached down and grimaced before he patted Ronon's uninjured arm, "You hear that buddy? No more knock out punches from you for a while."

Jennifer grinned in amusement and hoped he was not being serious. She had to treat both of them for bruises and cuts, which often required stitches, nearly every week when their sparring got a little bit overenthusiastic.

They turned around and Teyla blinked up at them tiredly from the next bed. She had a neat row of stitches on her brow. She spoke before John could say anything. "How is everyone?"

Jennifer smiled down at her, "On the mend, thanks to you."

She closed her eyes, "I am grateful to _you_ Dr Keller. I do not believe I would have been able to keep everyone alive had I been left alone on the Hive Ship."

John reached down and gently squeezed Teyla's hand. Her eyes opened again and she smiled at him. She then looked up at Dr Keller.

Jennifer saw the unspoken question in her face and answered, "I'm going to keep you in for observation overnight to make sure your head injury is not serious. Try to get some rest and we'll check up on you every few hours."

Teyla nodded slowly and closed her eyes again as she fell asleep.

Sheppard and Keller walked around the end of Teyla's bed and past a curtain sectioning off the other half of the infirmary. Jennifer turned to him and said quietly, "Major Lorne and Dr McKay's injuries were unfortunately far more serious than those of Teyla and Ronon."

John frowned in worry. He had only seen the pale faces of both men and the many tubes attached to them. He still had no idea what had happened on the Hive Ship after the crash.

Jennifer stepped in between the beds and they looked down at Lorne. A nurse was taking some readings from the monitor and noting them down on a clipboard.

Lorne had a breathing tube in his mouth and many IV lines snaked around him and into his arms and hands. Jennifer sighed softly as she watched his chest rise and fall in time with the ventilator.

She said, "The Major's condition deteriorated quickly after we left the Hive Ship. He has several broken ribs and a punctured lung. He also has some internal bleeding. It's not serious enough to need surgery, but we'll need to keep a close eye on him."

John looked down at the still form of his second in command with a stoic, unreadable expression on his face. He wondered how Lorne had been so badly hurt when Ronon, Teyla and himself had not. He reasoned that they had just been luckier, even though they had all been subjected to the same forces in the crash. He shook his head as his train of thought only led to the guilt flaring up inside him again.

Jennifer glanced up at him and fixed her eyes on his face in concern. "Don't worry too much John. With all the equipment the Ancient's left behind we're in a good position to help him and we'll do our best to make sure he recovers."

John nodded at her and they turned around to the final bed in the line. He thought he saw Jennifer stiffen for a moment out of the corner of his eye and heard her sigh softly as they looked down at the well bandaged form of Atlantis' Chief Science Officer.

The nurse who had been next to Major Lorne also joined them. She pulled the clipboard out from the end of Rodney's bed and started to note down the readings.

John could see the cast on Rodney's lower leg as it was propped up on some pillows. He also noticed the blanket raised slightly above Rodney's abdomen due to the thick bandages hidden underneath. He braced himself for what Dr Keller was about to tell him about his friend's injuries.

Jennifer blinked a few times as she kept staring down at Rodney's pale face, but she did not speak for a long time.

John eventually turned to her and she visibly shook herself out of the trance. She tore her eyes away and looked at Sheppard. "He had a lot of debris fall on him in the crash." She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly before she continued, "It broke his leg, but we managed to set it successfully. He also has numerous contusions to his back and a deep laceration which cut very close to his spinal cord."

John now understood the bandages and looked back down at McKay. "Will he be alright?"

Jennifer also turned her head to gaze at Rodney's face. "We scanned his spine and there doesn't appear to be any damage, but he'll need to stay here for a few days so that we can monitor him. It's best if he doesn't move at all until we're sure."

"Will he be able to walk again?" John asked.

Jennifer nodded and smiled, "Well, he'll be hopping around on crutches for a while, but unless we've missed something… I don't see why not."

John grinned briefly and then they both turned away to look at the injured marines on the other side of the infirmary.

They stopped in the middle of the room as John held the side of his chest and winced. Jennifer carefully manoeuvred him to a chair and made him to sit down and rest.

John looked up at Jennifer and suddenly noticed the lines of tiredness across her face and the way her eyelids drooped in sadness. He frowned and asked, "And how are _you_?"

She gave him a tight smile and said, "A little tired, but I've got a lot of people to look after. There'll be plenty of time for sleep when everyone's better."

John gave her a sad look, "Well, just be careful and don't work too hard or you'll end up staying in here as a patient yourself."

Jennifer smiled and then her face fell as a sudden thought passed through her mind. "I've still got to try and find a way to help Todd. I've been working on it ever since I got everyone stabilised and the surgery was complete, but I'm not having a lot of luck."

John gave her a reassuring smile, "Keep working on it. I'm going to have a word with Mr Woolsey about him later."

He pushed himself upright and grimaced as his chest shifted. Jennifer then led him over to the other marines.

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Rodney woke up to the sound of talking and laughing all around him. He kept his eyes closed and wondered why there was so much noise when he was trying to sleep. He felt numb and warm for a moment; the warmth seemed to be pooled around his belly and also encircled his right leg.

The numbness rapidly faded away to a dull ache in his leg and back. Then suddenly it spread out frighteningly quickly and rose to all out pain as he became more aware.

The voices stopped abruptly and he heard a fast beeping noise close to his ear as his heart pounded in his chest. He tried to block out the feelings assaulting his senses, but his efforts had no effect.

He heard footsteps approaching and a hand on his shoulder. An eloquent female voice spoke, "Are you awake Rodney?"

He groaned in reply, but could not build up enough strength to form any words or open his eyes.

A man said, "You know Zelenka's trashed your lab while you've been lazing around in here. He's been ordering your people around like he owns the place. I think they seemed happier when you were in charge, so you'd better hurry up and get out of here or we'll have a full scale mutiny on our hands."

Rodney felt a frown creasing his brow at the sarcasm he heard in the voice and there was a bass chuckle in reply.

The pain had diminished somewhat. He felt something brush against his forehead and forced his tired eyes open.

Rodney opened his mouth and croaked quietly, "He wouldn't."

The scene before him was blurry and he had to blink a few times to bring everything into focus. He felt a straw in his mouth and drank some water to soothe his parched throat.

He looked up at the person standing next to him and saw Jennifer gazing down at him in concern. "Er, thanks."

She nodded and said, "Try not to move too much. You've got a broken leg and we're still monitoring a nasty cut on your back. Both injuries seem to be healing nicely, but you'll need to stay here for at least a few more days."

He gave her a weak smile and she gently patted his hand as she gave him a look of reassurance. She then walked away and left him with the rest of his team gathered around the bed.

They all watched him expectantly and Rodney frowned when he saw that Ronon had a pen in his hand and he was trying not to laugh. His eyes betrayed him as they darted down to Rodney's leg before snapping back up to look at him. McKay saw the mirth in the man's face and he mumbled in annoyance, "What's so funny?"

Teyla smiled and she shared a knowing look with Sheppard next to her. She said, "John told us earlier that it is a tradition on Earth to sign the cast around a broken bone."

Rodney's face fell and he felt panic building up in his chest over what his team mates had scrawled for all to see on his injured limb. He knew would have to live with whatever it was for the next few weeks.

John saw Rodney's fearful face and he got up. He came over and stood next to McKay. His stiff and pained movements were not lost on Rodney and he felt concern suddenly mixing with the panic over his potential future embarrassment. He looked across at Teyla and Ronon and saw there was a cut on Teyla's head and Ronon's arm was in a sling.

Rodney pushed aside his own concerns for a moment and said, "What happened to everyone? You all look like you had a lot of fun in the crash as well."

Ronon grunted, seemingly in agreement and mumbled, "Cuts and bruises. We're fine."

John gave him an incredulous look and then spoke more evenly, "Ronon broke his arm, Teyla; concussion," she nodded back at him. He pointed to himself, "Broken ribs. Major Lorne's still sleeping it off over there." He indicated the other bed next to them and Rodney turned his head to glance across at the Major.

Sheppard suddenly grimaced, "Oh and Todd left a few hours ago as well."

Rodney frowned up at him, "Will our favourite friendly Wraith be alright?"

Sheppard shrugged and shook a little. He quickly retreated back to his chair and sat down taking slow breaths.

Ronon answered instead, "Does anyone care? We got rid of him and his ship was destroyed."

Teyla shook her head and then reached up and held her forehead to stop the spinning, which threatened to overcome her. "We do not know what happened to him. He has now lost everything and if he survives the process it will be difficult for him to integrate back into Wraith society."

Her words hung in the air and Rodney felt his eyes closing again involuntarily as his injuries and the drugs caught up with him. He let himself drift off again in the silence of his friends as they sat gathered around him in support.

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A few days later Rodney was still in the infirmary and propped up in his bed with a stack of pillows. He ate some blue jello thoughtfully. It was dinnertime for the rest of Atlantis and his team had all left him alone for a while so that he could have some time to himself.

Major Lorne was still asleep next to him, but he had been awake and Sheppard had spoken to him earlier.

Dr Keller came over and sat down in the empty chair nearby. She watched as Rodney finished the last of the jello and smiled at him.

He let her take the empty cup so that he did not have to stretch the stitches across his back.

She reached up and gently held his hand in her own. Rodney frowned slightly at her, "Uh, shouldn't you be keeping a professional detachment?"

Jennifer smiled mischievously, "It's alright Rodney. I'll log this as off duty time."

"Oh, okay."

She brought her other hand forward and placed it over the back of his hand so that she held it between both of hers. She caressed his skin gently and looked down as she spoke, "How're you feeling anyway?"

He said, "You're the Doctor, you tell me."

She lifted her head up and studied his face and reiterated his own words back at him, "Professional detachment?"

Rodney opened his mouth and shifted himself slightly. He winced and screwed his eyes shut for a moment. The pressure of the grip around his hand increased as Jennifer squeezed it gently.

He let out a long sigh, "Feels like something decided to claw my back and then stamp on my leg just for a bit of extra fun."

Jennifer rubbed the back of his hand again and smiled sadly at him. "Actually I was thinking of realising you tomorrow. I've got some crutches ready and as long as you take it slowly and try not to overexert yourself, you should be fine."

Rodney opened his eyes and smiled at her. "Thanks Doctor."

She grinned back at him. They stayed there in silence, enjoying each other's company for a few seconds, which very soon turned into minutes. There was no discomfort in the quiet and Jennifer kept hold of Rodney's hand as they let the stillness wash over them.

Jennifer suddenly spoke and Rodney jumped a little, "Aren't you curious? I would've thought you'd be tearing yourself apart not knowing."

Rodney frowned at her in confusion. "About what?"

A smirk played across Jennifer's face and she said, "Your cast. The rest of your team were in here earlier writing who knows what on the plaster. I haven't looked yet, but you were awake at the time."

Rodney's frown deepened, "I don't remember, I hope it's not too rude or humiliating."

"Well let's take a look shall we."

Rodney tilted his head back and closed his eyes, "I think I'd rather not know."

"Oh, come on. You're going to see it in a few hours anyway."

He looked back down at the blanket covering his sore leg. He watched nervously as Jennifer got up and pulled the cover back.

He leant forwards and grimaced when he saw Jennifer smile. He glanced down and narrowed his eyes to read the text upside down. He recognized Sheppard's writing.

"**I survived a Hive Ship crash and all I got was this."**

Underneath that a messy scrawl continued, **"And a little scratch."**

Teyla had been more diplomatic and her neat handwriting was traced along the side, **"Wishing you a speedy recovery. Teyla."**

Jennifer suddenly grinned up at him, "It's looking a little bare don't you think? You'll need to get as many people as possible to sign it."

She got up, walked away and came back a moment later with a marker pen. Rodney watched her curiously as she pulled the chair along to be next to his leg and started to write.

"There you are." She said when she finished and stood up. She walked up to stand next to his head and leant over him. She held his face with both of her hands and kissed his forehead gently. He smiled up at her and she rubbed his chest affectionately before she walked away.

Rodney watched her until she had disappeared back into her office. He then looked down at his leg and saw what she had written.

**"You don't have to get hurt just to come and see me. Get well soon. Jennifer."**

He smiled in relief and closed his eyes as he drifted off to sleep once more.

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The End

A/N – Special thanks to RodneyIsGodney for the help (I'm sure I'll think of something else later!) and thanks to all of you for reading!


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